Ore sorter

Abstract

This invention relates to apparatus for and a method of sorting ore having a radio-active component. The method includes the steps of passing a stream of ore particles through a ring detector to detect ore in the stream having a radio-active emission intensity above a predetermined level and then sorting this ore from the remainder of the ore in the stream. Preferably the invention includes the step of determining the mass of each ore particle and correlating the mass and radio-active emission measurements of the particle to determine its grade.

We claim: 
     
       1. Apparatus for the bulk sorting of particulate ore which comprises: means defining a passage through which a stream of the ore is continuously moved under the action of gravity;   means for feeding individual batches of particulate ore into said passage defining means, said passage defining means having a downwardly converging shape and being sized to hold a plurality of batches;   detector means adjacent the passage for providing a measure of the radioactive emission intensity of successive transverse bands of the ore in the passage; and   means for sorting the bands of ore on the basis of such measure.